Estonian Independence Day Concert: Mari Kalkun and Jaagup Jürgel

20 February — Estonian Independence Day concert “Flight Beneath the Northern Sky” with Mari Kalkun and Jaagup Jürgel

Charismatic singer and composer Mari Kalkun brings her latest work and much-loved songs to the stage. The concert brings together Mari Kalkun’s deeply personal musical world and Jaagup Jürgel’s refined feel for the guitar. New songs interspersed with traditional music offer listeners an authentic and engaging musical experience.

There is something primal and captivating, raw and honest about Mari. Her music has taken her around the world and won the hearts of listeners both at home and across the ocean. In just a few years, Kalkun’s recent album “Stoonia lood” (Stories of Stoonia) took her to major stages in more than twenty countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea. “Stoonia lood” brought old Estonian myths and contemporary Võro poetry to listeners, carrying them through Kalkun’s personal musical language and storytelling into the heart of today’s world and its problems.

In this new musical collaboration, Mari is joined on stage by Jaagup Jürgel, an Estonian musician and guitarist who recently received the Tiit Paulus Young Guitarist Award.

Mari has collaborated with a range of leading artists and organisations in her field, including Peter Gabriel’s world-renowned record label Real World Records, the Estonian National Male Choir, acclaimed British musician Sam Lee, and composer and conductor Rasmus Puur, among others.

Kalkun’s work has received widespread recognition in Estonia and abroad. Accolades include a place in the top ten of the year’s best albums by the respected British publication The Guardian; the 2025 Etnokulp Musician of the Year title; a 2024 Gold Record; the top position on the Transglobal World Music Chart; the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s annual award in the arts; ERR’s Musician of the Year title; radio support from BBC to Vikerraadio; and the audience favourites “Sata-sata!” and “Elukoor” at song festivals.

Her self-expression springs from an inner curiosity about the world and the human soul. In Kalkun’s work, ancient and living traditions meet, carrying listeners into epic soundscapes and a journey through a very different time and space—a realm boundless in both sound and word.